Woods Joins McIlroy in Turkish Event With $1.5 Million Prize

PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods will take part in a Turkish tournament in October for a top prize of $1.5 million, Ahmet Agaoglu, head of the country’s golf federation, said. Photographer: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy
and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods will take part in a
Turkish tournament in October for a top prize of $1.5 million,
Ahmet Agaoglu, head of the country’s golf federation, said.

Turk Hava Yollari AO, the national flag carrier also known
as Turkish Airlines, will sponsor the tournament, Agaoglu said
at a news conference in Istanbul today.

The Turkish Airlines World Golf Final will have a budget of
$12 million, with prize money of $5.2 million, he said.

The event will be held in the Mediterranean resort of
Antalya on Oct. 9-12, and Charl Schwartzel, Lee Westwood, Hunter
Mahan, Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose and Webb Simpson will also take
part, Agaoglu said.

Turkish Airlines, which also sponsors Manchester United and
Barcelona soccer clubs, will fly as many as 20,000 spectators
from around the globe to the tournament, Chief Executive Officer
Temel Kotil said at the conference.

The tournament will be aired on TV channels in more than 50
countries, Kotil said.

Turkish Airlines is also sponsoring the World Amateur Golf
Championship to be held in Antalya on Sept. 27-Oct. 7, Kotil
said. This will help prepare Turkey’s players for the Olympics
in 2016, where golf will be part of the games for the first
time.